Music & Movies

"Tariq Trotter . . . could be hip-hop's Dostoyevsky. Like the Russian novelist, Mr. Trotter has refined literary fire from the soulful furnace of pain and suffering."--The New York Times From one of our generation's most powerful artists and incisive...

From the photographer behind the Instagram sensation Brown Girls Do Ballet, this stunning coffee-table book showcases breathtaking images of ballerinas of color of all ages and levels that reflect today's beautifully diverse world of dance. For decades...

A stunningly illustrated oracle deck featuring 52 of hip-hop's most influential queens (from Lauryn Hill to Megan Thee Stallion) serving as compass points for spiritual growth and portals to guidance and meditation--from the author of God Save the...

"I see my story as a suite of songs that have a magical connection. I never understood that connection until I sat down to write. It was then that the magic started to flow."Let Love Rule is a work of deep reflection. Lenny Kravitz looks back at his...

Hill shares his experience teaching a hip-hop centered English literature course in a Philadelphia high school where rap music, breakdancing, graffiti culture, and other aspects of hip-hop were incorporated into the curriculum. Annotation: Hill shares...

The definitive, deluxe art book from costume design legend Ruth E. Carter.   Ruth E. Carter is a living legend of costume design. For three decades, she has shaped the story of the Black experience on screen--from the '80s streetwear of Do the...

"At once a film book, a history book, and a civil rights book ... without a doubt, not only the very best film book ... but it is also one of the best books of the year in any genre. An absolutely essential read." --Shondaland This unprecedented history...

The long-awaited New York Times bestselling memoir of seven-time Grammy-nominated artist Charlie Wilson, the iconic R&B and Funk singer-songwriter-producer and former lead singer of The Gap Band--interwoven with his recollections of collaborating with...

Decoded is a book like no other: a collection of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history, and one of the most provocative and successful artists of our time.Praise for Decoded "Compelling . . ...

Dubbed "the Hip-Hop Intellectual" by critics and fans for his pioneering explorations of rap music in the academy and beyond, Dyson probes the most compelling and controversial dimensions of hip-hop culture. Whether along race, class or generational...

A history of the distinctive, U.S. Capital sound that fuses hip-hop, funk, and soul

This lively study unpacks the intersecting racial, sexual, and gender politics underlying the representations of racialized bodies, masculinities, and femininities in early 1970s black action films, with particular focus on the representation of black...

From Donald Bogle, the award-winning author of Hollywood Black and leading authority on Black cinema history, this is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive and lavish biography of Hollywood's first African American movie goddess. Lena Horne's life and...

Since its inception in the mid-twentieth century, American music theory has been framed and taught almost exclusively by white men. As a result, whiteness and maleness are woven into the fabric of the field, and BIPOC music theorists face enormous...

The stories behind the iconic celebrities, brands, and images that defined hip-hop style. On a hot summer night in August of 1973 DJ Kool Herc and his sister, Cindy, put on a "back to school jam" in the recreation room of their apartment block at 1520...

It's Bigger Than Hip Hop takes a bold look at the rise of a generation that sees beyond the smoke and mirrors of corporate-manufactured rap and is building a movement that will change not only the face of pop culture, but the world. M. K. Asante, Jr., a...